Ultimately, Grayson announced that he would return to the private sector rather then make an attempt for the state attorney general's office following the end of his second term.[3][4] He subsequently resigned his position several months earlier then expected after he was offered a job as director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.[5]

Democratic Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker was named as Grayson's replacement by DemocraticGovernorSteve Beshear on Friday, January 7th, 2011.[6] She was officially sworn into office three weeks later on Saturday, January 29th, immediately promising to run for a full term in office during the November elections.[7]

Debates

September 19, 2011 - Kentucky Tonight, KET

On Sept. 19, the television program Kentucky Tonight hosted an hour-long debate between Republican candidate Bill Johnson and DemocratAlison Lundergan Grimes. The major topic of conversation was voter registration rules -- Johnson has proposed a photo ID requirement for voter registration to limit fraud, a policy Grimes opposes as unfair to the elderly, the homeless, and students. Johnson also argued against a 2012 constitutional amendment that would allow felons convicted of non-violent crimes to vote after serving out their sentence; Grimes supports the measure.

Campaign finance

Neither candidate has filed general election campaign finance reports as of October 5, 2011.[11] See below for finance summaries from the primaries.

Polling

The first poll of the race, by Kentucky media outlet cn|2 in partnership with Public Policy Polling, showed DemocratAlison Lundergan Grimes with a 10-point lead over her Republican opponent. By the end of August, that lead had declined, with one poll showing a rise in undecided voters and another suggesting Johnson had closed the gap to within 3 points.

Controversies

Voter registration

Republican candidate Bill Johnson slammed Democratic incumbent Elaine Walker on July 6, 2011 for ordering the State Board of Elections to register homeless citizens to vote even if they can't provide a home address on their registration forms.

In a blog post published on his campaign website, Johnson argued that Kentucky election law (KRS 166.155) requires prospective voters to fill in an address on their voter registration card before being allowed to cast a ballot. He added that "providing an address is critical to determining and state residency," and suggested allowing voter registration without an address "opens our election process to potential fraud by felons, illegal immigrants, and other ineligible voters who only claim to be homeless."[15] Johnson's memo called for Walker to resign and accused Alison Lundergan Grimes, who will face Johnson in November after defeating Walker in the May 17 Democratic primary, of being unfit for office for failing to criticize homeless voter registration.[16]

Grimes's campaign manager, Jonathan Hurst, brandished a different clause in state law to rebut Johnson's claim. According to Hurst, KRS 116.025 states that citizens, in order to vote, must only be 18 years old, a Kentucky resident, mentally competent, not registered to vote in other states and not a felon. He went on to argue that "Kentuckians do not give up their rights as citizens because they are not property owners" with no permanent residence.[17]

Elaine Walker's office had no official reply to Johnson's accusations and gave no indication that registration of the homeless would stop.

Drop outs

Joe Graviss, a Versailles businessman and McDonald's franchise owner who filed a letter of intent with the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance on Wednesday, May 19th, 2010, withdrew two months later because of a “contractual obligation” to the fast-food company.[23][24]